Binondo in a Bite: A Binondo Food Tour

Sometimes the best way to get to know a local community is through its gastronomy.

Earlier this year, we joined Old Manila Walks, one of the more well-known tour operators in Manila, in a Food Tour around Binondo.  The Food Tour was a genius idea as it combines two things that most people love the most: food and travel. 

Binondo provided a good subject for the food tour as the town bears a distinct personality and history because of the large concentration of Filipino-Chinese citizens in the area.

The day started in high spirits. We were after all going to be spending the whole day trying out the best that Binondo has to offer in terms of food. Although our tour guide was 30 minutes late, the excitement did not easily die down.

At the start of the tour, we were introduced to the humble beginnings of the community, how the Chinese inhabitants of the Fujian province made their way to the Philippines in search of greater economic opportunities, how the Spanish colonizers decided to expel all Chinese from the country, but retained a small number of Chinese because of the goods and services they can provide, and how a settlement for these Chinese merchants were then established outside of the walled city of Intramuros.

Appetizer: Lumpiang sariwa in New Po-Heng Lumpia House

As we walked through the narrow alleys of Binondo, we acquainted ourselves with different samplings of ‘distinctively Chinese’ food. First on the itinerary was New Po-Heng Lumpia House. It was a delight to try the scrumptious lumpiang sariwa version of Binondo. I have tried lumpiang sariwa many times before, but after having tried the one in Binondo, I just knew that everything else from that day on was going to be a let-down. That’s  how good it was. I wish more food stalls or restaurants would offer lumpiang sariwa the same way, with the same perfect combination of sweet and spicy. 

Main course: Authentic Chinese food in Amah’s Kitchen 

Thereafter, we walked through a narrow alley filled with fruit stalls and small local family-owned restaurants. We entered one of the more well-known local restaurants in Binondo which has been featured in newspapers before: Amah’s Kitchen. It’s a small restaurant that resists drastic changes despite its successes. There, we helped ourselves to different samplings of Pansit with satay sauce, an extremely spicy version of Pansit, Taohu (Tofu) goreng, which is a scrumptious version of a Tofu viand, and Gutay-a empanada, a tasty meat empanada which I could not resist but have a second serving of.

Street Food in Binondo

I was already quite full during this time but there was no time to take a break from eating. Next on our itinerary was a sampling of Tienpao and bicho-bicho - Binondo’s own version of street food. I am not sure if it’s because I was so full already that I could not appreciate it anymore as much as I could have, but I found the Tienpao and the bicho-bicho a bit too greasy and not exactly to my liking.

But maybe, I was just looking for something a bit lighter and easier on the stomach this time.

Best dumplings of Binondo

After walking through the streets of Binondo, we entered another small restaurant to try a variety of fresh meat and vegetable dumplings. I definitely appreciated the new yet familiar flavors presented to us through these dumplings. 

The set-up within the restaurant was itself very interesting – the kitchen was at the back part but the dumplings were being assembled by the window at the front of the store so as to entice the customers and to show how fresh the dumplings are being made in the restaurant.

Dessert in Eng Bee-Tin: Binondo’s most successful Deli

After trying all these Chinese delicacies, I felt I was ready for something light and sweet. We entered the crowded pink and blue Eng Bee Tin Chinese Delicacy store. There I discovered the newly offered custard hopia, which we were told had just been released recently in the store. Besides this, there were also other sweet delicacies that the tourists can try such as the classic monggo hopia, tikoy, and mooncake.

Even though I highly enjoyed the custard hopia, the last stop of the tour felt a bit alienating. There I was, a first-time visitor of Binondo who was starting to fall in love with the old charm of the town, now surrounded by highly commercialized products and customers who were rushing to get in and out of the store.

I love how the tour started - with an introduction to the history of the town followed by our walk along the narrow alleys of Binondo to the familiarization with small local food businesses. In the end, however, the tour failed to end the day on a meaningful note. It failed to consolidate the whole experience and left us only a reminder of how we are at risk of losing the old charm of Binondo, how it could soon to move to the same beat and pace of other cities in Manila.

But considering how much I’ve learned about the gastronomy and history of  Binondo through the tour, I would still recommend these to other tourists. Just a few advice: don’t eat too much at each stop, and also don’t expect too much that the end of the tour will be as good as how it began. 

Other Details:

The Big Binondo Food Wok

Tour route:
Plaza Calderon dela Barca

Binondo Church

Ongpin Street

Traditional Chinatown shops and restaurants

Carvajal Alley Market

Tour Duration: 3.5 hours

Website: http://oldmanilawalks.com/binondotour.htm

Telephone no.: (632) 7113823
Mobile no: +63918-962-64-52
Contact person: Ivan or Cherry

About the Author:

Zea is currently studying European Languages in UP Diliman, with German as her major and Tourism as her minor. She is a member of the UP Deutscher Verein, an organization which aims to promote the German language and culture. Her idea of a good time is engaging in competitive physical activities. She loves travelling and dreams of back-packing through Europe and Asia someday. In her free time, she watches sitcoms and plays the drums.